When Kris+ first launched as KrisPay back in July 2018, Esso was one of the 18 initial launch merchants in the “burn only” programme, but when earning at selected retailers finally rolled out in March 2019, Esso remained one of the few options in that poor-value “burn only” category.

While that remained the case for last five years, Kris+ and Esso finally developed their partnership into the earn miles category as well in early 2024, and an earlier launch offer for upsized miles earning is now back for a full six months.

Kris+: 12% off and 3 mpd on Esso petrol purchases

For the next six months, between 1st October 2024 and 31st March 2025, you can earn 3 mpd on fuel purchases at Esso when you pay with the Kris+ app.

From 1 October 2024 – 31 March 2025, enjoy an upsized earn rate of 3 miles per S$1 spend when you pay with Kris+ at Esso for fuel purchases only!

Miles are on top of your credit card rewards.

Kris+

That’s a 6X upsized rate on the long-term year-round earning of 1 KrisFlyer mile per S$2 spent with this merchant (0.5 mpd).

In addition, Esso Smiles members who use Kris+ for payment are entitled to a 12% discount on fuel purchases, though this replaces any other existing card discounts at Esso stations in Singapore, which are in place for Citi, DBS and OCBC cards as follows:

• Citi: 14% discount
• DBS: 14% discount
• DBS Insignia & Vantage: 18% discount
• OCBC: 14% discount

In-app payments via Kris+ at Esso support Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

Note that Kris+ can only be used for fuel purchases at Esso, not other items from the mini-mart. You’ll have to pay for those separately if you’re using Kris+ for petrol.

Up to an extra 6 mpd with your credit card

The beauty of this 3 mpd earn offer on petrol purchases at Esso via the Kris+ app is that it stacks with the points or miles you can earn on your credit card for the purchase, and that means up to a further 4 mpd is currently available, for an effective total earn rate of 7 mpd.

Here’s a rundown of the credit cards in Singapore which will give you between 3 mpd and 6 mpd for Esso fuel purchases made through Kris+ with in-app payment.

Card	Earn rate	Spend Cap per calendar month
UOB Lady’s	4 mpd	S$1,000 (Lady’s) or S$2,000 (Lady’s Solitaire) Transport must be one of your bonus categories
DBS WWMC	4 mpd	S$1,500
Maybank World MC	4 mpd	No cap (unlimited)
UOB KF	3 mpd	No cap (unlimited)

Note that the UOB Lady’s cards will revert to 4 mpd bonus category earning from 1st April 2024, so that additional 6 mpd option is only available in March, while the 3 mpd bonus promotion runs right through to the end of May.

Esso Smiles points on top

You’ll also earn Esso Smiles points for your petrol purchases as an Esso Smiles member, at a rate of 1 point per litre of fuel purchased.

While these can be converted to KrisFlyer miles at a 100:100 ratio (auto-conversion option), these points are best kept for a future offset of your fuel or mart purchases at the cashier, where you’ll get up to 4 cents per point in value, by redeeming in one of the following blocks.

Esso Smiles Points Redemption Value

Instant Redemption	Points Required	Value per point
S$5	180	2.78 cents
S$10	300	3.3 cents
S$30	750	4 cents

Is the Kris+ deal worth it?

If you fill up at Esso stations anyway, it’s very likely you’ll do better with this Kris+ deal between now and the end of March 2025.

For example, if you are an Esso Smiles member using the DBS Vantage card (1.5 mpd) to fill up with fuel, here’s how that looks for a S$100 purchase:

• S$100 petrol purchase
• Less 18% discount = S$18 off
• S$82 final cost
• S$82 x 1.5 mpd (Vantage) = 123 miles

Now let’s say you also have a DBS WWMC card – useless for fuel purchases since it would earn only 0.4 mpd for offline transactions like this, but no such concern with Kris+, where the payment codes as online and 4 mpd is then unlocked.

• S$100 petrol purchase
• Less 12% discount = S$12 off
• S$88 final cost
• S$88 x 3 mpd (Kris+) = 264 miles
• S$88 x 4 mpd (WWMC) = 352 miles
• Total 616 miles

In this case you’re paying S$6 more for your petrol (S$88 – S$82), but earning 493 more miles (616 – 123).

That’s the equivalent of ‘buying’ miles for 1.22 cents each – a good deal in our book.

Obviously you’ll have to do the maths based on the payment cards you have available to you, but on the whole this looks like a great deal for most of our readers.

Over 400 year-round Kris+ earning options

If you’re not using Kris+ to earn additional miles for dining, retail, wellness or other goods and services in Singapore, then you’re potentially missing out on thousands of additional KrisFlyer miles each year.

The “lifestyle app” has progressively extended its reach across many popular (and admittedly some less well-known) outlets right across the country over the last few years.

Here’s our latest list of all Kris+ merchants and their respective regular earn rates, before credit card points and miles are accounted for.

Kris+ and Esso are back with their 3 mpd earn rate when paying for fuel in-app, plus up to a further 4 mpd from your credit card, which is quite a compelling proposition over the next six months, between now and the end of March 2025.

Even if you’re giving up a better discount rate, Kris+ is still offering Esso Smiles members 12% off fuel purchases, and that typically means ‘buying’ the additional miles at a competitive rate, especially if you’re using a card with 4 mpd earning.

(Cover Photo: Esso)